Andy Roddick Cites Jimmy Connors’ Example to Point Out Novak Djokovic’s ‘Incredible’ Grand Slam Run

Novak Djokovic grabbed two ATP 250 titles and made the semifinals of all the Grand Slam events this year.

Andy Roddick Cites Jimmy Connors’ Example to Point Out Novak Djokovic’s ‘Incredible’ Grand Slam Run

Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Jimmy Connors (Image via The New York Times, Lob and Smash, X/AllAboutHQ)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Novak Djokovic reached the semifinals of all four Majors this year. In the eyes of Andy Roddick, he was the third-best player of the season, following Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the winners of eight and six titles, respectively.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic suffered an injury that forced him to throw in the towel in the semifinal against Alexander Zverev. En route to the semifinals, he knocked out Alcaraz in four sets in the quarterfinals. Sinner became the reason behind his elimination at the French Open and Wimbledon, with both matches ending in straight sets. At the US Open, Djokovic once again suffered a straight-set loss, this time at the hands of Alcaraz.

Roddick, who faced Djokovic nine times and won five of those matches, cited Jimmy Connors‘ example to explain why Djokovic reaching the last four of all Majors in a season at the age of 38 is an impressive feat. The 2003 US Open champion said on his Served podcast:

Remember how much importance we rightly placed on Connors’ performance in 1991, when he reached the semifinals [of the US Open]. Just one semifinal. That tournament remains my favorite. Novak did it; he was a year, a year and a few months younger, and he’s done it four times this year. He beat Alcaraz. We shouldn’t take that for granted.

The last Grand Slam title that the Serb lifted was the 2023 US Open. Since then, he has only once reached a Major final (in the 2024 Wimbledon, which he lost to Alcaraz in straight sets).

You look at him, and you think, ‘Well, he doesn’t move as well anymore.’ Yes, of course. He’s almost 40, obviously. It’s just incredible. I don’t think it’s controversial to say, by a fairly wide margin—and not based on volume—that Novak has been the third-best player of the year this year.

Djokovic ended the 2025 season with two ATP 250 titles. The Geneva Open win over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz made him the third man in the Open Era to reach 100 or more singles titles. In his last match of the season, the 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the first edition of the Hellenic Championship in Athens. Djokovic skipped the ATP Finals for the second time in a row.

John Isner says Novak Djokovic had the third-best year

Even former player John Isner shares the opinion with Andy Roddick about which player had the third-best season after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. During the Nothing Major podcast, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson picked Ben Shelton, while Jack Sock chose Felix Auger-Aliassime. But Isner did not agree and picked Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

I did not see the Ben Shelton answer coming, but I like it. The more I think about it, I like it. I don’t think it’s the correct answer, but I like where you guys are going. I’m going with Novak. He was ridiculous this year.

Shelton played two finals this year: he lost the Munich Open final to Alexander Bublik, while at the Canadian Open, he lifted his career’s first Big Title by defeating Karen Khachanov.

Auger-Aliassime played five finals and took home three titles. He lost the Dubai Open and the Paris Masters to Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sinner, respectively. The Canadian ace clinched the Adelaide International, Open Sud de France, and the European Open by defeating Sebastian Korda, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Jiri Lehecka, respectively.

Both Shelton and Auger-Aliassime featured in the ATP Finals. The latter made his second appearance following the 2022 season, while the American ace made his debut. Auger-Aliassime’s qualification was possible after Lorenzo Musetti’s defeat to Djokovic in Athens.

Also read: Elena Rybakina Decides to Postpone Pre-Season Tour After a Hectic 2025 Season